The Supreme Court has ruled that the 2nd amendment applies to individual citizens. But how does that affect you? How does it affect the lives of your and your children? Who is packing a pistol? Should you be carrying one too? What you should know before you step out your front door.

If you are anti-guns, or afraid of guns, or just don't like them and don't want them in your house, then this blog is for you.(It might just change your mind)

Sunday, May 5, 2013

House approves campus carry, other gun rights laws

BY MIKE WARD - AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

On a day when the nation’s strongest Second Amendment lobby group was gathered in Houston, the Texas House on Saturday tentatively approved a dozen pro-gun bills — including a highly controversial measure that would legalize concealed weapons in buildings on college campuses.
Another bill would thwart enforcement of new federal gun restrictions in Texas, a move intended to target firearms laws proposed by the Obama administration.

Saturday’s votes were on a wide array of legislation that would provide state training for new school marshals to protect students from shooting attacks, exempt concealed weapons licensees living in remote rural areas from electronic fingerprinting rules, allow for an inadvertent display of a concealed pistol, shorten the amount of classroom instruction required to obtain a concealed handgun permit and allow for renewal of handgun licenses on the Internet.

While most passed quickly with voice votes, disagreement erupted over the so-called campus carry bill and federal restrictions.

The first, House Bill 972, will allow concealed handgun licensees to carry handguns inside campus buildings — from dorms to classrooms to sporting arenas — unless a public school or university specifically prohibits it. Private schools would not have to allow them.

Under current law, concealed handguns are prohibited in campus buildings, though they are allowed on campus grounds. Universities can opt to allow concealed handguns on campus, as Texas A&M University has done, but few others have followed suit.

The change has faced strong opposition from officials at the University of Texas and other public colleges and universities, where officials fear it could promote violence.

Public hearings on the issue in recent months have been packed, with emotions running high on both sides.

“This primarily covers adults, faculty and employees,” said state Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Cypress, the author of the bill. “It will not result in a large population of undergraduates carrying concealed weapons” on campus.

“The idea that this bill would result in increased violence is unfounded,” said Fletcher, a former police officer.

In all, he said, only about 9,300 of the state’s 584,000 handgun licensees are between the ages of 21 and 25 — and many of them are military veterans.

Opponents tried unsuccessfully five times to stop passage of the bill with parliamentary challenges. Amendments were also defeated that would have exempted universities within 75 miles of the Texas-Mexico border.

But when approval came, it was by voice vote, meaning that the representatives’ individual votes were not recorded. Saturday’s vote was followed by light applause and a standing ovation from several gun supporters sitting in the gallery. The vote also reportedly drew applause in Houston, where the National Rifle Association is holding its annual convention.

Despite the preliminary House approval — it must be voted on again before it is finally passed — the measure faces likely death in the Senate, where a similar bill has stalled in committee and where even supporters say they do not expect the upper chamber to approve it.

It was a different story two years ago, when the Senate approved campus carry after it was attached to a university spending bill in the final days of the legislative session. That measure died in the House.

Saturday was the first time in recent years that the campus carry measure has passed the lower chamber.

The Firearms Protection Act, HB 1076, was also approved on a voice vote after brisk debate over whether the measure was enforceable and constitutional.

The measure would prohibit the enforcement of any federal firearms restrictions on ownership, accessories and ammunition enacted after January 2013. State and local officers who do so could face a misdemeanor charge.

Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, the author, said the bill is necessary to prevent an erosion of Second Amendment rights through new edicts from Washington. Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, disagreed, calling the measure “unenforceable and unconstitutional.”

“This bill is not about the Second Amendment; it’s about making a political statement,” said Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, who tried to attach an amendment to prohibit Attorney General Greg Abbott from using taxpayer money to defend the new law.

“This is a waste of state resources,” Turner said.

The House disagreed, tabling his amendment 82-33 and then passing the bill with a loud voice vote.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to say that private schools would not have to allow concealed handgun licensees to carry handguns inside campus buildings under House Bill 972.

True Hoplophobia, or the fear of guns, is a mental illness which, like other true phobias, incapacitates its victims with anxiety, shortness of breath, inability to think clearly and rationally. Obviously, we who are fearful of guns and their destructive power don't have true Hoplophobia. But we are still afraid. Why?

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PRO GUN QUOTES

Gun control:The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound. - L. Neil Smith

Gun control has not worked in D.C. The only people who have guns are criminals. We have the strictest gun laws in the nation and one of the highest murder rates. It's quicker to pull your Smith and Wesson than to dial 911 if you're being robbed. - Lieutenant Lowell Duckett, President Black Police Caucus, Special Assistant to Washington, D.C. Police Chief

They have gun control in Cuba. They have universal health care in Cuba. So why do they want to come here? - Paul Harvey, 1994

Suppose the Second amendment said A well-educated electorate being necessary for self-governance in a free state, the right of the people to keep and read books shall not be infringed. Is there anyone who would suggest that means only registered voters have a right to read? - Robert Levy, Georgetown University Professor

We should not blame a gun itself for any crime or any acts of violence, any more than we can blame a pen for misspelling a word. - Senator Bennett (R-UT), Congressional Record, 5/16/68

When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President of the United States

PRO GUN CONTROL QUOTES

For target shooting, that's okay. Get a license and go to the range. For defense of the home, that's why we have police departments.- James Brady

The most effective means of fighting crime in the United States is to outlaw the possession of any type of firearm by the civilian populace.- Janet Reno

We need to stand firm on behalf of sensible gun control legislation. We have to enact laws that will keep guns out of the hand of children and criminals and mentally unbalanced persons.- Hillary Clinton

Without stronger, sensible gun laws, thousands upon thousands of people will continue to die and be injured needlessly each year.- Brady Campaign

We don't need any additional gun laws, we need to enforce the ones that we've got!- Anonymous

One third of all households with children younger than eighteen have a firearm-Brady Campaign

If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an out-right ban, picking up every one of them... 'Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in,' I would have done it. I could not do that. The votes weren't here.-Senator Dianne Feinstein

This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!- Adolph Hitler